................................

Both Play Great Pool and The Pro Book cover these topics. I'd say PGP covers it better and with more specific techniques.

Dave
 
Let's save some time.

I'm going to tell you to read Pleasures of Small Motions.
Inevitably, someone will suggest The Inner Game of Tennis. It's also very good.
CJ will chime in with Zen and the Art of Archery.
Zen Golf is worth reading as well.
 
ScottK said:
Let's save some time.

I'm going to tell you to read Pleasures of Small Motions.
Inevitably, someone will suggest The Inner Game of Tennis. It's also very good.
CJ will chime in with Zen and the Art of Archery.
Zen Golf is worth reading as well.
Click to expand...

Yep, this one
 
Inner game of tennis....You might also subscribe to some of the Golf magazines, they delve into the mental side of play often.
 
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mental

I agree inner tennis is great ,you just put pool where tennis is. Also Jimmy Reeds no time for the negative audio is great.
 
This is not a sports specific book so it wont cover a psr but it is one of the best books I've read on the subject of the mental game, and I have read a lot. Try the try me (free first chapter) version on Kindle and see for yourself.
 

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Wow BB, where you do find this stuff?

Anyway, to the OP, I suggest you pick up Mark Wilson's Play Great pool. The chapters on the mental game and getting in dead stroke, or "killer stroke" as he calls it, are incredibly in-depth and could be almost be a stand-alone book, and it's some of the best material I've ever read on the subject. And the rest of the book ain't too shabby either!
 
I've heard a lot of great things about the Play Great Pool book. I think I will start with that one then work on reading some of the others mentioned here. The inner game of tennis has some great reviews as long as you can replace the word tennis with pool like someone mentioned in an earlier post.

Thanks for the responses so far guys. Keep them coming!

John


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
All the books mentioned before in this thread are worthwhile to pick up. But the following are books that I discovered while doing my own research to help my mental game. And I found them very informative.

Your Performing Edge by Joann Dahlkoetter, PhD.

The Mental Athlete by Kay Porter.

The Mental Edge by Kenneth Baum.
 
The Art of Mental Training is a good one. Great chapter about creating holistic cue words to prevent performance choking.

10 Minute Toughness is good as well. The breathing exercise mentioned in the first chapter is worth the price of the book.

:grin:
 
TheThaiger said:
How, specifically, have these books helped people? Anyone go from really weak to really strong?
Click to expand...

The skills have helped me in many ways; from improving my overall level of play by increasing my self image and confidence, to being able to handle pressure better because of skills in handling emotions and work on focus, to getting better practice because of setting goals and daily tracking results.
 
TheThaiger said:
How, specifically, have these books helped people? Anyone go from really weak to really strong?
Click to expand...

Like many things in life, it depends upon the seriousness of the problem that one has. Using our current understanding about how the mind works can, and does, have a major impact on someone's life if they are wiling to use the principles involved.

Somewhat like understanding the mechanics and necessity for a pre-shot routine when playing pool. All good players have a PSR. They may, or may not, recognize that they have one but a PSR is necessary for long term consistency.

If one's fundamentals are poor then understanding a PSR, its components, methods for development, the roll of practice and the application of the principles used to develop a good PSR can go far in assisting a player to quickly improve their playing ability.

If one developed a good PSR based on their natural ability, experience in other sports, and their own intuitive senses then further understanding of the mechanics of a PSR are probably not needed.

For the most part, many people do not have a good understanding of how the mind works nor do they understand the principles used to modify behavior. That is one reason it requires a PhD in psychology and several years of supervised practice before the principles can be applied to change lives.

Depending upon the problem there are some excellent tools that can be used to improve one's playing ability. However, they will often change your thinking and behavior in other areas of your life as well.

There are a few "tricks" that when understood can be used to fairly quickly contribute to the improvement of many players' ability. Here I am thinking primarily about relaxation, specific tools used to improve concentration, and practice routine principles that all lead to an improvement in one's ability.

Probably some of the best research on specific changes that can be made have been conducted in the areas of "Quiet Eye" principles and in "Old way - New way" training. I have not seen specific studies on the improvement of one's ability to concentrate with regard to pool playing but suspect that a review of the literature would lead to the conclusion that the ability to concentrate can be rapidly improved in many people. Research on relaxation techniques has a long distinguished history and contributes to improvement in many sports, though I know of no specific studies related to playing pool. Research in hypnosis and the many offshoots for enhancing concentration are readily available.
 
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